As the host of the reception, both Xin Pingping and Cheng Shilian were already waiting downstairs early. After seeing Jiang Tian, they even gathered around the handrails, saying "benefactor" and "noble official". He was led towards the building diligently and eagerly.
From the outside, Duan Ping Building looks like a five-storey, quite modest and large-scale restaurant. But once you enter it, you will find that it is like a cave. You are faced with a large area of carefully cultivated indoor flowers and trees and artificial streams, which make the residual heat and hustle and bustle of the outside disappear.
Starting from the second floor is where guests are entertained; then, as you climb up the stairs to the higher floors, the corresponding grade and style become higher. It is said that the fifth-floor rooftop and terrace are exclusive places that can only be used by regular customers with specific identities.
Finally, Jiang Tian and others were led to a spacious hall on the third floor; here, in addition to several lamps with animal mouths and fish patterns that were brightly illuminated on the walls, there were also several seasonal flowers in bottles with plum patterns in the corners. Apart from that, there is only the table that has been set up, which looks fresh and neat.
This time, the reception was in the style of a banquet with wild food. That is to say, a large table with a length of more than ten feet is placed on the railing of the spacious colonnade hall, and then cushions and cushions are placed on three sides of the large table; only one side is left for serving food and enjoying the singing and dancing outside the railing. instrumental music.
In fact, the banquet style of the Tang Dynasty in this generation has become extremely colorful due to the vast exchanges across the world. In addition to the traditional banquet (dining at the same table), table dining (sharing meals according to the table), gallery dining (dining together at a long table), and traveling dining (buffet), there is also the Hu Shi method.
Of course, the so-called Hu Shi in this era is actually divided into many different forms according to its origin. Among them, the more famous Daqin Hushi is a circle of couches, where the host and guests can sit or lie down, eating on the couches to watch the song and dance performances in the middle;
As for the Uighur food, they sat cross-legged around a fire grill in the center, with rugs and mats on the floor. The slaves continued to cut meat and bring wine to the table, and everyone at the banquet ate with their hands. The style of entertaining Jiang Tian this time was obviously typical Persian cuisine, so he sat on soft cushions and ate around the table.
Along with four seasonal fruits, five-color dried fruits, six-flavored candied fruits, seven dishes of side dishes, and other appetizers, they were presented one after another, and after Jiang Tian tasted them one by one, both Cheng Shilian and Xin Fengping slowly let go. Instead of being reserved and polite, I began to feel more at ease.
Here, we can also see the difference between Xin Pingping and Cheng Shilian; the former is obviously enthusiastic and outspoken, and even if he says the wrong thing, he will not make people angry. The latter is relatively smooth and comfortable, good at observing faces without losing proportion, and seems easy to get along with.
However, judging from their interactions and specific attitudes, Cheng Shilian, who is well-off, seems to have more respect and admiration for Xin Pingyi, who comes from a poor family; and everything is based on this senior who is similar in age. Lord, even if maybe this banquet is his host.
Therefore, after the initial greetings and familiarity, as the host of the small banquet and a local, Cheng Shilian and Xin Pingping also took turns introducing some local scenic spots and tourist attractions in Luodu, as well as some secrets and anecdotes in the streets and alleys.
Whenever a guest with a special status appears in the building, they will take the initiative to introduce the origin and origin of the guest to Jiang Tian;
"That one is the palace envoy Li Rui." Cheng Shilian introduced a rich, beardless, feminine-looking middle-aged man: "One of the regular visitors to Duanpinglou, even though he is a minister. , but he is an old player in Fengyue Sou Village everywhere, and it is said that he is also the proprietor of "Xunfang Lu"."
Of course, Jiang Tian knew that the name Gongshishi came from the image of robbery described in the Chinese text "The Charcoal Seller" by Liu Zongyuan. However, according to Cheng Shilian's words, the palace envoy of this time and space has become something else.
Just like the Wufang children who used to hunt snakes and hawks for extortion in history, in this time and space, they have become the eyeliners and minions who maintain the imperial power. The once notorious palace envoy, after undergoing the transformation of Taiping Zhongxing, also became a high-ranking and fat vacancy.
In the first province (gongtai) of Da Nei, there are three supervisors (secretaries, palace ministers, chamberlains), five bureaus (Yeting, Gongwei, Xiguan, internal servants, and inner palace) and six ministers (Shanggong, Shangyi, Shangfu, Shangfu, Shangggong). Among the twenty-four squares (Eating, Sleeping, and Gong), they are specially responsible for handling old things in the palace;
Although he looks like a rag seller, he is actually a member of the inner circle. Among the few public businesses, the township party has a good reputation. In terms of status, they are second only to the eunuchs in the Internal Affairs Bureau who are responsible for daily life and daily necessities of the royal family.
Because, compared to the traditional disposal of used goods, they can legitimately host bidding auctions, objects that are remembered by Ouchi and royally certified utensils; don’t underestimate these items. The world has been at peace for a hundred years, but the princes have continued to pay tribute, and there are many civilians who are nouveau riche. Willing to spend money to take over.
Just to have something that can be shown off in front of relatives, friends and guests, claiming to be a used heirloom of the Tian family. Moreover, compared to the internal government bureaus that require specific qualifications and status to obtain the status of imperial supplier and make contacts, the palace envoys are undoubtedly much more friendly to the people.
Theoretically, as long as your wealth is clean and you are willing to spend money, then there is basically no problem in getting yourself a set of shrunk versions of homemade/imperial utensils; and it is a large quantity. In fact, it doesn’t matter if your net worth is not innocent enough, you can also get it from another (underground) auction.
As long as you spend a few more dollars to buy a set of certification documents issued by Xiguan Bureau, no one will be able to find anything wrong with it. Therefore, this is also one of the favorite shortcuts for many people who have made a fortune or successfully purchased a house after traveling overseas or in foreign lands to increase their wealth.
Later, Xin Pinggong pointed to another one and said: "That is Master Guangyue. He comes from the Baigu Temple in the jungle in the west of the city. He is a famous contemporary poet monk. Together with the local Zhengshan people and other celebrities, he is also known as the Ten Friends of Fanglin. Today He was hired by Luo Fan in Liaodong and worshiped as the Crown Prince Fu."
Let me talk about an unpopular historical knowledge here. Quite a few monks in the Tang Dynasty could not help but eat meat. The vegetarian Buddha was a blind thing invented by Liang Yan, Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Dynasty, who was famous for being a monastic Buddha and eventually starved to death in Stone City. Most of the monks in the north didn't recognize it.
Whether it was Shemo Teng or Zhu Falan who were the first to spread the Dharma to the East and stayed at the White Horse Temple, or Jiumozhi in the Northern Dynasties, or eminent monks such as Yijing and Faxian, they did not have this kind of pretentiousness. Even Master Xuanzang, the prototype of Buddhist scriptures from the West and the founder of the three Buddhist sects, was not a vegetarian.
Otherwise, with their physical strength and endurance, how could they have traveled through the vast Gobi Desert, the vast sea grassland, the plateau mountains, and traveled thousands of miles between sand bandits, horse thieves, and wars? In the end, despite the decline and decline of Buddhism in Tianzhu, with great perseverance Completed the great cause of Buddhism spreading eastward.
And Master Xuanzang is a more stable and powerful man of the generation. You can either (physical persuasion) make you encounter bandits on the road, and then achieve enlightenment, change your mind, convert to our Buddha and become a follower; you can also impress the Western Turkic Khan with your eloquence and send troops to escort you all the way across the Hindu Kush Mountains and into Tianzhu.
And after arriving in Tianzhu, he even participated in the Uncovered Dharma Conference in Qunu City; in front of the vast number of Buddhist believers in Tianzhu, he fought against monks from hundreds of countries and cities; and finally won the highest honor of Nalanda Temple - Tripitaka. , is respected as the "Mahayana Heaven" and "Liberation Heaven" by both Mahayana and Mahayana.
Therefore, as the descendants of Master Xuanzang, contemporary Buddhists are free to eat meat and fish as they please; even monks who travel abroad eat whatever their donors give them; there are no vegetarians in later generations. A show of fake compassion.
The only precepts they need to observe are nothing more than not killing, not seeing any killing, and not causing others to kill, which are the so-called three pure foods. It is closer to the habits of Theravada/Theravada Buddhism that were popular in Southeast Asia in later generations. Of course, apart from this, other aspects of the precepts still need to be practiced.
In fact, there are various branches of the eight Buddhist sects in this dynasty, as well as various streams of esoteric Buddhism; there is another important destination, which is the cause of spreading Dharma in foreign lands. Therefore, some scholarly monks and warrior monks with backgrounds in famous mountain monasteries were often employed by vassal families to assist in vassal affairs or participate in expeditions.
In this case, they do not need to observe too many precepts, but regard them as part of their human experience. During this process, a considerable number of monks would give up practicing Buddhism and return to secular life to start families due to various reasons. In this kind of restaurant, seeing a monk is really nothing.
Jiang Tian and others were in the middle of their conversation when the silver bell rang outside; but the official dishes of the banquet began to be served. The first thing to be carried in was a steaming, golden and oily lamb; it was spread on a large silver plate on the bottom of green cattail leaves, with a cherry in its mouth.
The head chef was wearing a plain white coat. After greeting and asking for instructions from the three people at the table, he picked up a blunt knife and lightly scratched the back of the golden lamb. The roasted lamb was instantly crispy. Gently flicking the middle part, it revealed the quail soaked in milk.
Then, he used a silver spoon to gently pick the quail soaked in the snow-white juice; from the stewed quail meat, a white, frozen stuffed egg was picked out. Then, this stuffed egg from an unknown bird was put on a small plate and delivered directly to the only guest, Jiang Tian.
Jiang Tian suddenly realized that this was obviously a simplified version of the famous contemporary dish "Hun Yang Shihu". Jiang Tian took advantage of the situation and scooped a piece of it into his mouth. He felt that it was as smooth as fat and jelly, but there were bits of umami flavor that exploded one after another with the gentle stirring of his tongue.
It turns out that the inside of this stuffed egg is not yellow, but extra fresh fish roe is added; when the outside is cooked and crispy, relying on the half-cooked and cooled stuffed egg as insulation, it is actually still delicious despite heavy processing. It can continue to maintain the freshness and crispness of the fish roe.
Then, he used chopsticks to pick up a piece of quail in milk soup. He felt that the meat under the sweet soup had melted off the bones, and the bones were soft and flavorful. Finally, what was placed in front of Jiang Tian was a piece of lamb meat cut from the back of the neck; it was a combination of golden, crispy skin and juicy tender meat.
After more than half of the small "Hun Yang Shihu" was eaten on the spot, they were served with Yulu Tuan (carved cheese cheese), Tianxue (fried and roasted with honey), and Xiaotian Su (minced chicken and deer meat). Fried dumplings), Fenghuangtai (fried fish with chicken eggs), Xijiang cuisine (steamed minced pork gizzards with rice flour)...
The biggest feature of Duanpinglou is its magical method of making typical court dishes for imperial banquets into home-style dishes without losing the flavor. According to Cheng Shilian, the food can even be packaged into food boxes and delivered to your home, or it can be delivered to your home, which is a very thoughtful and considerate service.
